Motorola Mobility has confirmed that it has begun the process of acquiring 4Home, a software development firm that specializes in connected home services. The company develops ControlPoint, a software platform used for home energy management, home security, home monitoring, media management and home health services.
Motorola is presumably purchasing the company so it can integrate these connected home services into its mobile devices. With this technology, you could theoretically turn off the heat and pin code lock your front door from your upstairs office using your Android phone. Leon Hounshell, president and CEO of 4Home had this to say about the merger:
“As part of Motorola Mobility, the 4Home team will continue to increase the adoption of our award-winning connected home services platform by tapping into new business segments, such as cable, as well as adding significant resources to support our current customers and partners”
It is interesting that Hounshell mentions cable as a new business segment for its connected services. A recent report out of Reuters suggests that Motorola is working on a home streaming device that sends media content to compatible devices within your house. This rumored home streaming product will start as a stand-alone device but eventually be integrated into set-top boxes. Details are sparse but the home streaming device is expected to make its debut at CES 2010.
The connected home services offered by 4Home seem to fit in nicely with this rumored streaming device from Motorola. It may not have a bearing on this rumored media streaming device as the time frame is a bit quick to acquire and get a new company on board with technology that is expected to debut at CES. While we may not see the fruits of this acquisition this quick, I would not be surprised to see the 4Home development team play in role in the future development of any streaming and connected home devices Motorola has on its product roadmap